Such crop gathering devices in the form of draper platforms are described in GB 1 501 639 A, GB 1 574 033 A and GB 1 602 067 A. These platforms have a frame with a floor, side walls and a back wall. A transverse auger is arranged in front of the rear wall. Several conveyor belts arranged next to each other laterally are situated above the floor between a cutter bar on the front side of the floor and the transverse auger. The conveyor belts transport the harvested crop rearward to the transverse auger, where it is then released in its middle region to the feeder house of a combine. A rotating reel feeds the upright crop to the cutter bar is situated above the cutter bar and the conveyor belts.
The endless conveyor belts move around front and rear rollers. The rear roller is driven and moves the conveyor belts by friction. Between the two rollers, the lower strand of the conveyor belts lies on the third roller, biased by a spring force downward, which produces sufficient tightening of the conveyor belt. According to GB 1 501 639 A and GB 1 574 033 A, the front and rear rollers each extend over the entire width of the platform, whereas in GB 1 602 067 A, they only extend over the width of the corresponding conveyor belt.
The rollers, and with them the conveyor belts, are rigidly fastened to the frame of the platform. A drawback in the mentioned platforms is therefore considered to be the fact that more effort is required to disassemble the conveyor belts for cleaning, maintenance, or to eliminate jams.
EP 1 055 361 A describes another platform in which lateral conveyor belts feed the crop to the center, where it is conveyed by a third conveyor belt rearward into the combine. The conveyor belts are mounted on their own frames, which can be individually disassembled.